The bipartisan Congressional deficit panel would have attempted to produce a plan combining tax cuts and spending curbs that would have been voted on after the November elections. But the plan garnered just 53 votes in the 100-member Senate, not enough because 60 votes were required. Anti-tax Republicans joined with Democrats wary of being railroaded into cutting government health and pension benefit programs to reject the idea.

Mr. Obama's panel would seek to garner the same cost-saving recommendations by December, but Congress would not be obliged to even consider the recommendations made by the group.